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History of Pythia
Historical Tidbits The Slow Dissolution of the Empire Marignon, Ulm, and Arcos all used to be part of Pythia, as well as most of the territory that today is called "the wild lands". The Pythian Emperor led a massive campaign in 535 to conquer Pan'El. While little is known as to the exact circumstances of the campaign, it is known that the first 3 armies that he sent into the woods of Pan'El to subjugate the elves never returned, and were presumed dead. At this point the emperor led an army in himself, as big as the three previous armies combined. The campaign proved to be a disaster. Harried by elves who refused to fight him in open combat, his army was reduced to half its original size within a few months. Facing dwindling supplies and even worse morale, the emperor ordered the army to march out of the ancient woods. It was then that the elves finally fought him in the open, fielding an army made up of elves and all manner of fey. The emperor was forced to surrender, and signed a treaty with the wild elf chieftains that he would never again attempt to bring men into their woods. In return the elves agreed to have some contact with the outside world by building a city, to be called Sol'El, where outsiders could come and trade. While the creation of Sol'El would bring eventually bring a great deal of new advancement to both sides of the conflict, the Pythian nobility saw the emperor as weak for his failure, and soon after he was killed. His son would see the loss of almost 1/3 of imperial territory before his own death. However, the loss of nearly half of the entire imperial legion would leave the empire vulnerable for many years, a vulnerability it could not afford. By ancient treaty the surface lands of Ulm were the properties of the imperial throne for hundreds of years, while the underground territory and holds were the property of the dwarven king. When the orcs revolted in 540 and broke out of the ghetto camps that had been their homes for hundreds of years, the empire was forced to pull the legions out of Ulm in order to fight the orcs. The war lasted for years, and it took mere months for the bandits in the region to become intolerably bad. The surface dwellers begged the empire or the dwarf king to intervene. Finally, in an act of mercy, the dwarf king sent his armies to the surface to deal with the bandits. In return the local lords swore fealty to him over the empire. When the emperor discovered what had happened, he sent a diplomat to Ulm to hastily sign a new treaty with the dwarf king allowing free trade between Ulm and the other imperial territories, and formally ceding the present day lands of Ulm to him. This enabled the emperor to avoid war on two fronts, but, some scholars argue, was a pivitol mistake that led to the split of Arcos and Marignon, and he was nevertheless unable to rout the orc armies as they moved through his territory, taking control of towns and castles. Finally, in 545, through an alliance with Bogarus, the empire managed to gain a few important strategic victories that bought some time for the empire to breathe, as the orcs went into retreat. In 562, after an exceptionally warm winter(some say magical in nature) that saw the frost giants numbers dwindle, the norsemen started a new, and ever fiercer series of raids on the northern coasts of Arcos. The imperial garrisons in Arcos, sent for reinforcements, but were unable to hold the coastal fortresses that the reinforcements would need to arrive by(the land route in Ulm being cut off). The Pharoah of Arcos appealed personally to the emperor to send whatever he could, however, before long it became apparent that he would have to raise his own armies to deal with the threat. Demanding that the legionaires submit to him as their lord rather than the emperor, he set them to training his own soldiers in modern combat techniques and strategies, and before long, he was able to field an army capable of defeating the norse raiders. The raiders were pushed back to the coasts, and when the next winter proved extraordinarily harsh, the norsemen left Arcos entirely to defend their homeland from the resurgent frost giants. In 563, the emperor, humiliated by his failure to act, formally recognized the separation of Arcos from the greater empire. In 565 rumors started to appear in the remaining northern territories, today known as Marignon, of the rise of a new God called Marag, who spoke of the failure of the old Gods to defend their people, and the evil of arcane magic. Reinforced by the obvious failures and setbacks the empire had taken over the last 30 years, his teachings took root quickly. Armed revolt against the empire followed in 566, and later that year it was confirmed that the island nation of Mythan, as well as the greatest library of arcane knowledge in the world, had been destroyed. The Church of Zeus started a new sect, known as the inquisitors, to find and destroy followers of Marag within the empire. The legions were soon pushed further and further south, and the border with Marignon is to this day fluid, as the war continues. In 584 the orcs, having regrouped started to attack again. This two front war has ebbed and flowed for the empire for the last 30 years, to the present date, late spring of the year 614. Additional history will be added here as it is discovered in the campaign, either through knowledge(history) or related checks. Or by talking to people who can do such checks for you. Category:Old Setting Nations